Korean Air said on the 23rd that it has completed the acquisition of equity in WestJet, Canada's No. 2 airline. Cho Won-tae, chairman of Hanjin Group, was appointed as a director of WestJet.
Korean Air disclosed that on this day it acquired 11.02% of the equity and bonds of Kestrel Topco Inc. and Kestrel Holdings Inc., the parent companies controlling Canada's WestJet, for $217 million (about 311.5 billion won). This corresponds to 10% of the equity in its subsidiary WestJet.
Korean Air signed an agreement on May 9 to acquire equity in WestJet's holding company, and, with the completion of the closing procedures for this transaction, acquired the equity under the agreement. Delta Air Lines and Air France-KLM also participated in this transaction.
Many global aviation experts are on WestJet's board of directors, including Benjamin Smith, chairman of Air France-KLM, and Alex Cruz, former chairman of British Airways.
Since 2019, Cho has also served as a member of the Board of Governors (BOG), the top policy deliberation and decision-making body of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which leads the international aviation industry.
With this equity acquisition, the position of the Canadian aviation market—which is the world's seventh-largest and has posted double-digit growth since 2019—also appears set to become even more solid. As of 2024, the Canadian aviation market was assessed at $33 billion (about 4.736 trillion won).
A Korean Air official said, "Along with the integration with Asiana Airlines, we will pursue various cooperation in the global aviation market," adding, "We plan to broaden consumer choice and convenience to solidify our position as a global airline."